Walk With Me
by Vytina
Summary: Alister is ready to leave the hospital and pick up the pieces. But there is still one piece left. And it's waiting for him outside.


**A/N: Another oneshot for YuGiOh! This is supposed to take place at the end of/ater episode 184, with Alister checking himself out of the hospital. **

**This is intended to be some fashion of frienship between the two, but take it however you want. ^^**

**Title: Walk With Me**

**Characters/Pairing: Seto Kaiba, Alister (Amelda)**

**Rating: K+**

**Summary: Alister is ready to leave the hospital and pick up the pieces. But there's one more piece left to pick up. And it's waiting for him outside.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh! or any related characters.**

**Please review!! **

* * *

Walk With Me

"Mr….um…er…" the doctor struggled to think of the name before he recalled no such surname had been given to the patient upon his admittance. Giving up the already-lost cause, he cleared his throat and dashed back into his frenzied objections.

"Now, young man, I really must protest to this!"

"I was under the distinct impression that was precisely what you are doing, _Doctor_." The sharp edge placed upon his title was less than inviting. There was no mistaking it: this patient did _not_ care for doctors. Which, of course, meant that convincing him to stay in the hospital was going to be more difficult than previously thought.

"Well, I—never mind!" he waved away the sarcastic comment with a wild flourish, "Sir, please…you have just awakened from a deep, severe comatose state! You're being far too active! You must rest and remain here with us for _at least_ the next 48 hours, or I fear—"

"Fear all you want," a pair of sharp, steel-grey eyes turned to glare at the doctor. A small flare of twisted satisfaction surfaced within him as the older man cringed back from the look, "I'm not staying."

"You were in a coma!"

"I feel fine." He carefully deposited his duel disk and deck into his pack. The leather sagged a bit with the new weight, but he knew it would stay strong. After all (he almost laughed at the thought) it came with a lifetime warranty.

"You have been unresponsive for almost twenty-four hours, and now you think you can just get up and stroll out of here?"

"Yes, I do." His hand grabbed a hold of his coat, lightly throwing it over his shoulders and adjusting it back on his body. The leather smelt good, familiar amongst all the (nauseating) smells of the hospital. He nearly shuddered as he heard the wretched shriek of a blue alert break the quiet (aside from the doctor's lecturing). A stampede of white-clad individuals followed.

"Doctor! Quickly!!" a nurse ran past the door, not sparing the redhead a single glance in her hurry. The doctor looked between the dashing nurses and his stubborn patient, clearly at a loss.

The biker smiled rather coolly, "Well, Doctor, make your choice. Keeping a healthy, fully aware, and competent patient in a hospital against his will, or let me go and save your other patient before they expire on the table?"

The doctor gave one last huff before bolting out the door. Smirking and triumphant, Alister threw his pack over one shoulder and strolled out the door. Now then…how to pay for his little stay in this less-than-charming facility…

_

* * *

_

Anonymous donor?

Not that he should be complaining; not having to dreg up the funds for his hospital bill was definitely a refreshing prospective and would keep a few funds in the bank, but an _anonymous donor_? Couldn't people at least leave a first name? He wasn't so proud that he wouldn't drop a note of thanks to this…unnamed individual.

The sun was nowhere to be seen when he stepped through the sliding glass doors; the skies were a soft grey, covered in a thick blanket of clouds. He didn't need to be a meteorologist to know rain was to be expected, and by the looks of it, sooner rather than later.

"I thought I'd find you here."

It was hardly his nature to jump or be startled easily. That being said, he _did_ experience a distinct jolt of surprise at hearing a voice to his right. Not because it had come out of the blue, or because it was the only voice he heard in an otherwise vacant setting; little to no people were out wander the streets today. It must be the grey skies. Apparently, no one likes the rain.

No…it was not because of those things. It was because he knew that voice.

But he would not show his surprise. He still had his pride.

Taking a short, calming breath, he turned to find a brunette, blue-eyed CEO leaning against the wall of some kind of "plant patio" (hell if he could remember the proper name for it) outside the hospital. His arms were neatly folded over his chest; normally, one could interpret that posture as defensive and aloof. But, for whatever reason, the look on his face was almost…friendly.

At least, it was as friendly as one could expect from Seto Kaiba.

When the redhead didn't respond, Kaiba unfolded his arms, taking a casual step forward, "I guessed you would be out of the hospital the second you woke up. That's why I paid first, in case you beat me here."

Alister blinked. Once, then twice, then gave his head a slight shake to ensure he heard correctly, "What?"

"You heard me."

"_You_ paid?"

Kaiba swallowed back a smirk, "Really, Alister…you should see your face."

He could only imagine what his face _must_ look like; shaking his head again, he straightened up and fixed the brunette with a look. What _look_ he was going for, he didn't exactly know. He just hoped it came across as something _other_ than dumbfounded. "So, you paid for my hospital stay out of the goodness of your heart…and you couldn't leave a name? You had to play Secret Agent and list _anonymous_ as the title?"

"What? Did I spoil your intentions of leaving a thank you note in my mailbox?"

Before he had to shelve his pride and answer that, Kaiba continued, "Never mind. Look, when I paid, I didn't exactly have _time_ to go and sign my name on the bill."

"_Seto Kaiba_ and _Anonymous Donor_. Yes…I can definitely see why you chose the second option. Your real name is _so_ much longer."

_Smart ass_, Kaiba grumbled to himself. His mouth opened to throw that comment back at Alister, but the redhead beat him to it. "What did you mean, you guessed I'd be out of the hospital as soon as I woke up?"

The brunette shrugged casually, taking another few steps toward the redhead. It was blatantly obvious he was testing just how close he could get without being in danger of a sudden attack; personally, he wouldn't have been surprised if Alister _did_ lash out. But for the moment, he merely looked at Kaiba, waiting for an answer.

"I meant that I guessed we are…_similar_ enough that you wouldn't care for hospitals anymore than I do. To put it frankly…they creep me out."

"Why's that?" Alister asked before he could help himself. Call it natural curiosity. After all, the thought that _anything_ could "creep out" Seto Kaiba (and make him use the actual word) was a wonder in and of itself.

He shrugged again before stretching his arms. Alister personally suspected he wasn't stiff or anything of the like; he just wanted something to do while he was standing there. "Unhappy childhood memory. I might tell you about it someday."

As both men continued their descent down the hospital entry stairs, Alister lifted a brow and directed his eyes back to Kaiba, "Implying we'll be seeing more of each other."

"You sound offended at the very idea." The CEO commented, "You stalk me for God-knows how long, and now the thought of us seeing each other again appalls you? Really, Alister…" something that was between a smirk and a smile curved his mouth, "You'll hurt my feelings."

Strange…a few months—hell, a few _days_ ago—he would have produced a sharp-tongued retort to that comment, throwing it back in his face and inform him that he didn't _have_ feelings, just like his stepfather. But that was in the past, wasn't it? The hatred, the loathing, the disgust he felt for the man standing in front of him…that was all over, wasn't it?

Well, they were having a civilized conversation. That was a good start.

"So…what happens now?"

Alister blinked. Apparently, he'd been quiet for too long, because the brunette was looking at him as though halfway concerned he'd drifted off into some other universe. "What?" he said, sounding absurdly dumbfounded.

"What happens now?" he repeated quietly, "Where will you go from here?"

Alister stared at him for a long moment before shrugging. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to do. "I don't know…I'll probably find Rafael and Valon…try to pick up the pieces and move on from here."

"Just like that?"

"What else do you want me to do, Kaiba?"

"It doesn't really matter what _I_ want, does it?" the brunette said quietly—almost too quietly to even be heard properly, "It's your life…I'd daresay I've interfered enough with it."

He was approximately twelve feet away before Alister's brain decided to kick in and actually function for once.

"Kaiba, wait." He did still have enough scraps of pride to not _shout_, but there really was no need for that, particularly since his legs had carried him back to the brunette within three seconds. He couldn't fight down a momentary thrill when the CEO actually _did_ stop in his tracks. He didn't _look_ at him, but it was good enough for the moment.

"What…what are _you_ going to do?"

"Beg pardon?" now Kaiba did turn to look at him, blue eyes no longer cold but something that might actually resemble an emotion classified as surprise, perhaps mixed with a _drop_ of relief.

"What are you doing…? I mean, what's next for you?"

"Go home." He said, tone rather dry (if not bored). "I need to finish building the theme park with Mokuba…I've had to delay the project's completion long enough. I'm not going to do it for one more day."

Alister paused, then let the words fall out and pray they would sound mildly intelligent. "Can't you put it off for _one_ more day?"

A dark brow lifted, "Why? What would I be doing that's more important than keeping a promise to my brother?"

Well, when he put it like _that_, there really wasn't anything more important. But all the same…it was worth a last try, wasn't it?

"One day." He said quietly, looking directly into cerulean eyes and fighting down the tiniest shiver of anticipation, "Give me one day…and then if you want me to leave, I will. I just want…" he swallowed (literally) his pride to force this next word out, "I _need_ one day with you. Is that worth it or not?"

Kaiba maintained the connection between their eyes for a moment that, truly, seemed to stretch an eternity in silence.

Then, the closest thing that had ever resembled a genuine smile twitched his mouth up at the corners.

"Walk with me."


End file.
